Fiber-reinforced composites are integrated into parts for high-strength/low-weight applications, such as aerospace structures, due to their high strength-to-weight ratio. However, composites tend to possess a variety of drawbacks that prevent adoption into all applications for which this ratio is important. Composite beams may be extraordinarily strong in tension, but in compression may be subject to a variety of failure modes such as: matrix splitting, wherein the ends of a composite beam separate along planes between the fibers sheets and the beam splits down the middle; small-scale and large-scale buckling, wherein the individual fibers or the whole beam bends and fractures (respectively); or delamination, wherein the fibers may separate from one another along a shear plane between the fibers. Composite construction tends to be expensive and time-consuming where the geometries of parts are complex. Various parts of the construction process, for example cutting and attaching composite parts, may introduce surface imperfections which significantly diminishing strength. Therefore, in conventional composite manufacturing, increasing complexity may be correlated with ever greater risk of part failure.
At least a substantial part of the weight of a composite structure may be attributable to the matrix. Even though substituting a fiber-reinforced composite for metal or other materials in a structure may significantly reduce the weight of the overall structure, the weight savings may be further enhanced by reducing the volume of sections of the composite part that are infused with a matrix.